Adam Smith and the Contemporary World

In: Voprosy ėkonomiki: ežemesjačnyj žurnal, Heft 11, S. 25-37

Abstract

In this paper that is a transcript of a lecture held to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's "Theory of Moral Sentiments" the author who is a Nobel Prize winner in economics reflects on the relevance of this classic. He shows that Smith proposed a historical approach to institutional transformations as opposed to the authors who tried to advance a system of ideal institutions. The importance of Smith's views on impartiality in ethical evaluation of social conditions and in building a just society is also emphasized.